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SFB 1454:  Metaflammation and Cellular Programming

Subject Area Medicine
Biology
Term since 2021
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 432325352
 
Modern lifestyles are characterized by excessive food availability and sedentary habits, which, over the course of the last decades, has triggered a surge in metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, and neurodegeneration, accompanied by chronic inflammation and heightened immune reactivity, known as metaflammation. Metaflammation is now thought to be causally linked to the development of many non-communicable diseases (NCD) of the aging modern societies. Our goal is to uncover the direct links between metaflammation and the development of NCD. The CRC seeks to bridge the gap between disease-centred research and molecular immunology, analysing the pathophysiological mechanisms that occur in metaflammation induced by lifestyle-related stimuli. Through this approach we aim to pave the way for the development of innovative therapies and preventative strategies that address the root causes of these modern health challenges, ultimately extending health spans and improving the quality of life in contemporary societies. During the first funding period, the transdisciplinary approach of the CRC has made substantial contributions to the understanding of metaflammation and has started to translate the findings. The CRC elucidated key molecular players and signalling pathways in individual immune cell populations, deepening our understanding of the intricate crosstalk between metabolic and inflammatory processes. We have developed novel technologies to study immune cell reprogramming, which will be instrumental in dissecting the molecular mechanisms underlying the local and systemic inflammatory response in the second funding period. We have identified biomarkers and potential target molecules and founded two companies to bring concepts from the CRC into the clinic. This is supported by experimental pipelines, which we have established to investigate human patient cohorts, building the foundation for translating findings from preclinical models to clinically relevant insights. We have also disseminated findings with socio-economic relevance widely within the scientific community, the political arena, and the public. Four years later, the original research questions and topics of our CRC remain timely and cutting-edge. We study how emerging anthropogenic triggers reprogram immune cells, causing systemic or organ metaflammation, and focus on the interaction among reprogrammed immune cells and between other cells within affected tissues and beyond. Furthermore, we investigate the causes and consequences of metaflammation and cellular programming in human patient cohorts and at a population level using a large prospective cohort study, the Rhineland Study. In combination with prevention strategies and informing the public about how lifestyle factors can cause diseases, this will help us develop strategies to prevent chronic inflammation and related non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
DFG Programme Collaborative Research Centres

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Participating University Technische Universität Braunschweig
Spokespersons Professor Dr. Eicke Latz, until 10/2023; Professorin Dr. Dagmar Wachten, since 10/2023
 
 

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